The present invention relates to prepackaged adhesive bandages and in particular relates to an apparatus for conveniently dispensing adhesive bandages.
First-aid bandages or strip bandages (also referred to as finger bandages) are well known first-aid devices for covering contusions and abrasions. The conventional bandage comprises an elongated strip of medical grade pressure-sensitive adhesive tape with a centrally disposed absorbent gauze portion, leaving free adhesive material on both sides of the absorbent pad for securing the bandage to the skin over the wound. Typically, prior to use the adhesive portion is covered by a release sheet to avoid premature contact with the adhesive portion. The strip bandages, with the release sheet in place, are conventionally packaged in a sterile paper sleeve, which is ripped open using a pull-thread opening arrangement or by tearing the end section of the enclosure to expose an end of the bandage. The bandage is then removed from the package, the release sheet removed and the bandage applied to the wound.
The conventional bandage strips are marketed and sold in rectangular containers having an upper flap lid that opens to reveal a mixed assortment of packaged bandage strips of various sizes and shapes. This packaging makes it difficult for the user to observe and select the desired bandage strip from the container, as frequently the various bandage sizes and shapes are not separated and therefore become disorganized within the container. It is especially awkward and difficult to locate and grasp the desired bandage size and shape while the user is bleeding and may have an antibiotic ointment applied over the wound. Since all of the bandages are housed within one container, there is a tendency to exhaust the more popular bandage strips, a situation which typically remains unknown to the user until that size bandage strip is needed. The conventional flap type lids may also require a certain headroom distance to open and if not conveniently stored in a fixed location, may be troublesome to locate in an emergency.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,190 discloses a bandage package and dispensing apparatus that provides for the dispensing of individual bandages as required. However, this apparatus requires specialized and customized bandage packaging. Conventionally packaged bandages will not properly function within this apparatus.
The present invention is directed to a dispenser in which the bandages strips are segregated into dispensing compartments based on bandage size, and oriented vertically within each compartment. The bandages are conveniently dispensed from each compartment by the user""s application of a force through a front-surface opening that exposes a portion of the first bandage stored within the compartment. One or more helical springs (or other force imparting mechanisms) are disposed between the rear interior surface of each compartment and a movable plastic backing member in each compartment, which is approximately the same size as the bandages stored therewithin. Thus the spring urges the backing member against the stack of parallel, vertically-oriented bandages, which in turn urges the bandages against the front surface of the compartment for dispensing through the front-surface opening. In one embodiment, the front-surface opening is formed as an arcuate cut-out area.
The bandages are easily dispensed by the application of a force against the row of bandages through the cut-out area, which force has a component perpendicular to the bandages and is resisted by the opposing spring-directed force. When such a force is supplied by the user""s thumb or finger against the first bandage, a sufficient frictional force between the user""s thumb and the first bandage is created such that a second downwardly-directed component of the user-applied force allows the user to slidably withdraw the first bandage in the row from a slot located in the bottom surface of the compartment adjacent the cut-out in the front surface. Since the dispenser includes a plurality of different-sized compartments, several bandage sizes can be housed within the dispenser and dispensed from it.
In one embodiment of the invention, individually wrapped gauze pads can also be dispensed from a suitably-sized compartment of the dispenser, in a manner similar to the dispensing of strip bandages.
The dispenser further includes a compartment for holding and dispensing first aid cream or other semi-liquid or viscous medicinal material. In one embodiment, a flexible tube containing, for instance, first aid cream, is placed vertically within a suitably configured compartment of the dispenser, with the tube dispensing orifice facing downwardly and fixed within the bottom surface of the compartment. The user applies downward force to a slider that projects through a slot in the front surface of the terminates in a roller within the compartment interior. As the slider travels downwardly, it urges the roller against the tube, causing the material to dispense through the tube orifice at the bottom. The desired quantity of dispensed fluid is determined by the extend to which the slider is moved.
In one embodiment, the dispenser further includes a hinged top to provide access to the individual compartments for refilling each as required. Preferably, the dispenser can be attached to a wall or other surface using appropriate fasteners or Velcro(copyright) hook and loop type fasteners.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an organized and convenient apparatus and method for dispensing bandages, gauze and first aid cream, significantly simplifying the access and dispensing of these items in hospitals, school clinics, factories, emergency rooms, doctor""s offices, ambulances, and homes.